By no measure can we say that that Ike Davis is back just yet. I think he’d have to be way north of the interstate to back up that claim. However, not anymore can we say he is a lost cause and that he has to be shuffled off to Buffalo, because it appears that Davis is starting to get locked in at the plate and emerging from his deep slump.
Davis is on a six-game hitting streak, and in that time he has gone 9-16 with one home run, two doubles and seven runs driven in.
On the year, Davis is batting just .191 with six home runs and 28 RBI’s while striking out 62 times in 199 at-bats. Those are hardly the numbers Mets’ brass and Mets’ fans expected out of their cornerstone slugger. But after a year off of from baseball due to an injured ankle and then battling a bout of valley fever, Davis could never find a groove in the first couple of months of the season.
Well, I don’t know what is (perhaps feeling if he couldn’t get into the swing of things by vising AL ballparks-where you have to play with a DH-he would be on his way to Buffalo), but Davis finally seems to be a different batter at the plate of late. It looks like he is adapting well to breaking balls as well as going the opposite way-something that has been plaguing him this year.
Davis no longer looks like a deer caught in the headlights. No, now he looks composed and confident while digging in at the plate. The game is half mental as it is physical, and for the better part of two months, Davis’ head was not in the game. Davis had to be constantly reminded how bad he was playing and it definitely had an effect on his psyche. Davis was continuously pressing.
Hopefully Davis is past his mental struggles.
However, there was one move in Friday’s game by Terry Collins that left me puzzled. With the Mets down 7-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, Collins replaced Davis with Andres Torres at the start of the inning, as Collins did not want Davis to face the Reds’ almost unhittable lefty Aroldis Chapman. I guess the reasoning was that Davis has been playing well and Collins didn’t want Davis to try to do too much against Chapman and a result lose more confidence.
I don’t like the move. It’s not like the Mets were in a position to threaten the Reds and with the way Chapman has been mowing down hitters this year, Davis would just have been another victim to fall to Chapman.
Hopefully, Davis will not dwell on the snub to face Chapman, because he had been getting some at-bats against lefties lately and thriving. Davis’ home run on Tuesday came off a lefty (J. P. Howell) and he even started the game against one of the best lefties in the game in David Price.
As we all know, Davis is an important piece of the Mets’ future, and how he is handled the rest of the season will be of utmost importance. For the time being, Davis will be given a stay of execution.
With the way he has been hitting of late, that may not be such a bad thing.
Follow me on Twitter @Stacdemon
Torres has a .938 OPS vs left handers and also needs to get AB’s to stay sharp. I also believe that the Mets are always thinking that they are going to pull a game out right up to the last out and therefore always in a “position to threaten the Reds”. Tampa Bay said those two out hits and runs were demoralizing. Yogi said “it ain’t over until it’s over”. The 2012 Mets just don’t give up AB’s, that is why they are so enjoyable to watch. The move did not offend me.